Bedrail footrest

ABSTRACT

The bedrail footrest comprises a hanger member for mounting the bedrail footrest on a bedrail or the like and a footrest member, which is either rigidly secured to the hanger member or pivotally secured to the hanger member, wherein the footrest can be pivoted from a vertical storage position to a horizontal position when the footrest is to be used. In one embodiment of the invention, either member can serve as the hanger member or the footrest member depending on the type of bedrail.

mite States atent Inventor Esper P. Hinshaw 402 West Georgia, Anadarko, Okla. 73005 Appl. No. 774,884 Filed Nov. 12, 1968 Patented Dec. 28, 1971 BEDRAIL FOOTREST 4 Claims, 3 Drawing Figs.

U.S. Cl 5/317,

Int. Cl A47c 21/00 Field of Search 5/317, 327,

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 8/1883 l-lass 387,886 8/1888 Jones 16/191 2,156,872 5/1939 Roberts 16/158 X 2,524,971 10/1950 McGray 5/317 X 2,682,671 7/1954 McFaure 5/317 X Primary ExaminerBobby R. Gay Assistant Examiner-Andrew M. Clavert Attorney-Cushman, Darby & Cushman ABSTRACT: The bedrail footrest comprises a hanger member for mounting the bedrail footrest on a bedrail or the like and a footrest member, which is either rigidly secured to the hanger member or pivotally secured to the hanger member, wherein the footrest can be pivoted from a vertical storage position to a horizontal position when the footrest is to be used. In one embodiment of the invention, either member can serve as the hanger member or the footrest member depending on the type of bedrail.

vmmanuacaam' 3,629,881

INVENTOR ATTORNEYS BEDRAIL FOOTREST BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION This invention pertains to a footrest and more particularly to an improved bedrail footrest which can be easily mounted on a bedrail and retained on the bedrail to enable persons sitting on the bed to put on hose, socks and the like.

An object of the present invention is to provide a bedrail footrest which can be mounted on a bedrail and left there with the footrest in some embodiments folding out of the way when not in use.

Another object of the invention is to provide a bedrail footrest which is durable, economical to manufacture, and lends itself readily to mass production.

A further object of the invention is to provide a footrest which is adapted to fit bedrails of different widths and configurations.

Briefly, in a first embodiment of the invention, the bedrail footrest has a hanger member comprising an elongated block and a pair of straps, each of the straps having a downwardly opening channel-shaped portion, a horizontally extending intermediate portion and a vertically extending free end portion depending from the intermediate portion. The elongated block is secured to one flange of each of the downwardly opening channel-shaped portions to rigidify the assembly and cooperates with the other flange of each channel-shaped portions and/or the vertically extending free end portion of each strap to grip the bedrail. The footrest member is either rigidly secured to the hanger straps or pivotally mounted on the hanger straps so that it can be pivoted between vertical and horizontal positions.

A second embodiment of the present invention comprises a pair of elongated channel-shaped members the webs of which differ in width. These channel-shaped members are pivotally joined whereby they can be pivoted 90 with respect to each other. Either member can serve as the hanger member of footrest member depending on the type of bedrail on which the footrest is mounted.

The above-mentioned objects and advantages and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a first embodiment of the bedrail footrest of the present invention with the footrest rigidly secured to the straps of the hanger member;

FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view of the first embodiment of the invention showing a pivotal connection between the hanger member and footrest member;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the bedrail footrest of the present invention; and

FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view of the second embodiment of the invention showing a modified hinge structure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring now to FIG. 1, a first embodiment of the bedrail footrest of the present invention, indicated by reference character 10, is shown mounted on a typical bedrail 12. The footrest is made up of a hanger member 14 and a footrest member 16.

The hanger member 14 comprises a pair of straps 18, 18' and an elongated block 20 to which metallic straps 18, 18' are secured in spaced-apart relation.

Straps l8, 18' each have downwardly opening channelshaped portions with webs 22, 22', flanges 24,24 and flanges 26, 26'; horizontally extending intermediate portions 28, 28' extending outwardly from flanges 24, 24; and vertically extending terminal portions 30, 30 depending from intermediate portions 28, 28'. Flanges 26, 26' are greater in length than flanges 24, 24' extending down as far as the free ends of terminal portions 30, 30'. Flanges 26, 26' terminate in horizontal extensions 32, 32 to which the footrest 16 is secured.

The elongated block 20 is secured by screws or other suitable fasteners to vertically extending flanges 26, 26' and serves to rigidify the hanger member 14. The height of block 20 is substantially the same as the length of flanges 26, 26'. However, the width of the block is somewhat less than the width of webs 22, 22' for reasons as will be explained hereinafter. While, as shown, the block is made from wood, it is contemplated that the block can also be made of plastic, fiberglass, aluminum, iron, steel or other similar materials. When using materials such as aluminum, iron or steel, the block can be made hollow since the block will still have the necessary strength and rigidity.

As shown in FIG. 1, footrest 16 is rigidly secured to extensions 32, 32' of straps 18, 18' by means of screws or other equivalent fastener means which pass through extensions 32, 32 and up into the footrest. The footrest 16 can be made of wood, plastic, fiberglass, aluminum, iron, steel or other similar materials. As with the block 20, the footrest can be made hollow when using aluminum, iron or steel since the footrest will still have the necessary strength and rigidity.

As shown in FIG. 2, footrest 16 of the first embodiment can be secured to flanges 26, 26 of hanger 14 by means of hinge joints 34. In the preferred form, the hinge joints 34 each comprise annular keepers 36 formed at the lower edges of flanges 26, 26', plates secured by screws or similar fastening means to the upper surface of footrest 16 and having complementary annular keepers 38, and pins 39 passing through keepers 36, 38 thereby pivotally joining the footrest 16 to the hanger member 14. Block 20 extends below the hinge joints 34 whereby footrest l6 abuts block 20 when in a horizontal position to limit the clockwise pivotal movement of the footrest. When not in use, the footrest 16 can be pivoted about hinge joints 34 into a vertical position so that the footrest will be out of the way. If desired, a hook, latch or similar fastener for securing footrest 16 to hanger member 14 can be provided to insure that the footrest 16 will remain in a vertical position when not in use.

The bedrail footrest 10 of the present invention can be mounted on either a conventional rectangular-shaped bedrail, as shown in FIG. 1, or a bedrail made from an angle iron member. Since flanges 26, 26 and block 20 extend down as far as the free ends of terminal portions 30, 30' of the hanger straps, the block 20 cooperates with terminal portions 30, 30' to grip a rectangular rail such as rail 12 therebetween thereby mounting the bedrail footrest 10 on the bedrail.

If the footrest 10 is to be mounted on an angle iron bedrail, the vertical arm of the angle iron is gripped between the flanges 24, 24' of the hanger straps and block 20 while the horizontal intermediate portion 28, 28' of the straps rest on the upper surface of the horizontal arm of theangle iron bedrail and terminal portions 30, 30' engage the inner edge of the horizontal arm of the angle iron member. In this manner, the bedrail footrest I0 is securely mounted on the bedrail. From the above, it can be seen that the footrest 10 of the present invention can be readily mounted on either type of bedrail commonly in use today.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a second embodiment of the bedrail footrest is shown comprising a pair of elongated members 40 and 42 which are channel shaped in transverse cross section. Member 40 comprises a web 44 and a pair of flanges 46, 48 extending perpendicular with respect to the web and parallel with respect to each other. Member 42 comprises a web 50 and flanges 52, 54 extending perpendicular with respect to web 50 and parallel with respect to each other. Flanges 48 and 54 of members 40,42 are each provided with integral annular keepers 56, 58 respectively struck out along their common edges through which pivot pins 60 pass to pivotally connect members 40 and 42 together. The centerlines of annular keepers 56, 58 coincide with the centerlines of flanges 48 and 54. In addition, one of the members is provided with limit stops 62 to prevent the members 40, 42 from pivoting more than with respect to each other. For purposes of illustration, thelimit stops 62 are shown on member 42. As

shown, the limit stops are substantially U-shaped having free ends 64 which abut the rear surface of flange 48 of member 40 to prevent the members from pivoting more than 90 with respect to each other. Due to the U-shaped configuration, the limit stops 62 receive annular keepers 56 of flange 48 therein. Like the first embodiment, hook or latch means can be provided to help maintain the footrest member in the vertical storage position.

As shown in FIG. 4, the integral annular keepers 56, 58 on flanges 48, 54 can be offset with respect to the centerlines of their respective flanges with keepers 56' projecting outwardly from flange 48, keepers 58' projecting upwardly from flange 54 and pins 60 joining flanges 48, 54 and consequently members 40, 42 together. With this arrangement, limit stops or tabs 62' can be provided on flanges 48, 54 which abut each other when members 40, 42 are pivoted 90 with respect to each other.

Members 40, 42 are preferably made from material varying in thickness from one-sixteenth to one-fourth of an inch depending on the material used which can be plastic, fiberglass, aluminum, iron, steel or other similar materials. For the purposes of illustration in a typical bedrail footrest, web 44 would be approximately seven-eighths of an inch wide while web 50 would be approximately one-eighth of an inch wide. Flanges 48 and 54 would be approximately 2% inches wide and flanges 46, 54 would be approximately 1% inches wide. The overall length of members 40 and 42 would be 7 inches. Of course, these dimensions are merely exemplary and can be changed to accommodate a particular size bedrail.

As shown in FIG. 3, on a bed with a conventional bedrail such as bedrail 12 of FIG. 1, member 40 would be utilized as the hanger with flanges 46 and 48 gripping the sides of the bedrail and member 42 would serve as the footrest. With an angle iron type of bedrail, member 42 would serve as the hanger with flanges 52, 54 gripping the vertically extending arm of the angle iron member and member 40 would serve as the footrest.

While the second embodiment of the invention has been shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 with members 40, 42 pivotally secured together, these members can be formed integrally or otherwise rigidly affixed to each other at right angles.

In addition, although the preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it is to be understood that all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to which fall within the scope ofthe invention as claimed.

What is claimed is:

l. A bedrail footrest comprising:

a first elongated member, said first member being channel shaped in transverse cross section comprising a pair of flanges and a web;

a second elongated member, said second member being channel shaped in transverse cross section comprising a pair of flanges and a web, said web of said second elongated member having a width differing from that of said web of said first elongated member whereby either of said elongated members can serve as a hanger means for said footrest; and

said first and second elongated members being joined together adjacent the ends of one of said flanges of each of said members remote from said respective webs of said members.

2. In the bedrail footrest of claim I:

hinge means joining said elongated members together so that said first and second elongated members can be pivoted with respect to each other from a storage position to a position where one of said elongated members serves as a footrest.

3. In the bedrail footrest of claim 2:

limit stop means to limit the pivotal movement of said first and second elongated members with respect to each other.

4. In the bedrail footrest of claim 3: said hinge means comprising annular keepers struck out from said first and second elongated members and said limit stop means being integral with said first and second elongated members. 

1. A bedrail footrest comprising: a first elongated member, said firsT member being channel shaped in transverse cross section comprising a pair of flanges and a web; a second elongated member, said second member being channel shaped in transverse cross section comprising a pair of flanges and a web, said web of said second elongated member having a width differing from that of said web of said first elongated member whereby either of said elongated members can serve as a hanger means for said footrest; and said first and second elongated members being joined together adjacent the ends of one of said flanges of each of said members remote from said respective webs of said members.
 2. In the bedrail footrest of claim 1: hinge means joining said elongated members together so that said first and second elongated members can be pivoted 90* with respect to each other from a storage position to a position where one of said elongated members serves as a footrest.
 3. In the bedrail footrest of claim 2: limit stop means to limit the pivotal movement of said first and second elongated members with respect to each other.
 4. In the bedrail footrest of claim 3: said hinge means comprising annular keepers struck out from said first and second elongated members and said limit stop means being integral with said first and second elongated members. 